European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - June 30, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 18 the stars and stripes june daily Magazine the 399th army band from fort Leonard at the plaque dedicated to the stars and stripes Stoddard county t former army artillerymen Jim Mayo and wife sue at the Story and photos by Rudi Williams he Small farming town of population less than is so proud of being the publication site for the first stars and stripes newspaper that it has mounted a Large plaque to the gis newspaper on its veterans memorial volume 1 of the forerunner of today stars and stripes was printed on a hand press by Union soldiers in the newspaper office of the Bloomfield Herald on the press had been captured by the 18th and 20th Illinois Volunteer which ran the Confederate troops out of As locals Tell the while Many Yankee soldiers looted the town on the night of Blue who were decided to print a newspaper for the such was the beginning of the stars and stripes in this Small Missouri which Many referred to As a rank rebel but its a very Fine said Jim the prime Force behind establishing a veterans Monument and mounting the plaque to stars and stripes on the four Union printers were among More than Illinois volunteers who marched on the newspaper a left and they took Over the press and printed the first edition of stars and said there were a few mis takes the is Are upside those boys had a sense of Mayo said with a they ran an and in the paper to sell such things As secession Cotton balls they were ribbing the South the Union boys wanted to talk to the Southern maybe they wanted to straighten them May and the historical society members decided to build a veterans memorial because there was no Marker for some of the county men who were killed in now they have a fashioned after the Vietnam veterans memorial in the Granite Monument bears the names of 205 Stoddard county men who were killed in action 52 from world War 114 from world War 19 from Korea and 20 from the second idea was to put a plaque on the Monu ment to commemorate As the site of the first edition of stars and said a former army the inscription on the plaque reads in memory of those Union soldiers who published the first known stars and stripes newspaper for soldiers on november in the stars and stripes lives on today for air Force and Marine corps men and women serving published in world War world War ii and since in peace and during the korean and Vietnam presented by the european and Pacific stars and May a historical Marker in the Bloomfield Park gives a capsule account of the first printing of stars and the Monument sits on the Southeast Corner Lawn of the Stoddard county courthouse Square in about 30 feet from where the original i newspaper was a 30foot flagpole rises from the base of the which consists of three stones mounted on a 14foot the Center measuring 4 feet by 5 is dedicated to soldiers killed during world War the stars and stripes plaque is mounted above the a 3 by4foot Stone to the left lists the names of those killed during world War names of those killed in Korea and Vietnam Are engraved on a 3by4foot Stone to the i understand that five of the original newspapers said ours is kept in the vault of the mercantile Bank Here in Ive heard that one is at the University of Michigan and one at the univer sity of Wisconsin and another at the Library of con i have no idea where the other one in a Man in opened an old desk drawer in his attic and found a copy of the original stars and Mayo at he was going to Burn but he called the smithsonian institution and tried to sell it to they were out of Money to buy such so he called the vindicator the Bloomfield predecessor to the Bloomfield the indicators editor contacted who president of the Stoddard county historical the society bought the newspaper for Rudl wlllt9mv a former and str pet staff a Malor with the american information service